Primal Passion (5 page)

Once they had alerted the landlord and Gunner
had called in the cavalry, they escorted Denise back to the limo.
Price got in, expecting her to follow, but she remained behind.

“Aren’t you coming?” she asked Gunner.

Gunner shook his head. “No. I’m going to wait
here for the bomb squad. One of my friends in the Boston office is
coming as well. He’s going to open an investigation and I need to
give him some information. I suspect he’ll want to talk to you as
well, but I’ll hold him off until tomorrow.”

Price appreciated Gunner’s consideration. He
could see Denise did too.

Gunner grasped her hand and kissed her palm.
Price expected some of the jealousy he’d experienced during the
ceremony to return, but it didn’t. Instead, he felt a spark of
arousal at the sight of Gunner touching their woman.

Interesting.

“We’re going to put all of this behind us
tonight. Focus on the positive stuff that happened today,” Gunner
promised her.

Denise looked down, her confidence fading.
“You think this is positive? The three of us?”

Gunner grinned. “Hell yeah. Don’t you?”

She shrugged and glanced toward the open door
of the car. Price had placed himself far enough away that he was
hidden in the shadows but still able to see her. “I guess so. I
mean—” she lowered her voice and Price found himself bending
forward to hear, “—I don’t think Price is attracted to me. You
know, that way. I was wondering if…”

Her words drifted away, but he’d heard
enough. They went through him like a knife.

“You want to know if I’m sexually attracted
to you?” Gunner asked.

Denise nodded.

“I want you so bad it hurts.” Gunner took
their still-linked hands and rubbed her fingers along his chest.
“Soon I’ll show you exactly how much.”

Deni’s eyes widened. “I’m scared,” she
whispered.

Gunner kissed her, that same sweet meeting of
lips they’d shared back at the library. Price knew he’d never be
able to offer her the same. His desire for her had risen to
ridiculous levels, his cock so hard he feared he’d split the seam
in his dress pants. What he felt for the little innocent was far
from tame. It was primal, wild, ready to be unleashed.

He’d show Denise Parker exactly how attracted
he was to her.

“Go to the hotel with Price and take a nice
long, hot shower. When I get there, we’ll order room service and
start figuring things out. Okay?”

Denise nodded and then climbed into the car.
Gunner leaned forward, his gaze capturing Price’s.

“Don’t start without me, you two.” Though his
words were spoken in an easy, friendly tone, Price didn’t miss the
warning on the man’s face.

“We’re a threesome,” Price said, issuing his
own reminder. “Remember?”

Gunner nodded once and then shut the
door.

Denise turned to look out the window, but
Price wasn’t willing to give her any space. He moved, claiming the
spot next to her.

“Denise.”

“My name is Deni.”

For some reason, he couldn’t call her that,
couldn’t picture her as anything other than Denise. “I know.”

“But you’re still not going to use that name,
are you?”

He shook his head. “No. Deni is a girl’s
name. You aren’t a little girl. You’re a woman. My woman.”

“That sounds ridiculously caveman-like.”

Price grinned. “Maybe so, but I take care of
what’s mine.”

She bit her lower lip, a nervous gesture
Price was beginning to find endearing. He reached up and tugged on
her chin, forcing her to stop.

“Don’t hurt those lips. I intend to spend
hours kissing them later.”

She blinked rapidly. “But I thought—”

“I heard what you thought. You’re wrong. I’m
very attracted to you, Denise. Do you want proof?”

Her gaze drifted to his pants. He didn’t
bother to cover the obvious erection pressing against the fabric.
When she realized where she was looking, her gaze snapped back to
his face.

“You understand what’s going to happen
tonight?”

She nodded. “We’re going to have sex.”

“All three of us. Do you masturbate?”

Her face flushed. “What?”

“It’s a simple enough question.”

“Why do you want to know?”

He leaned closer, letting her adjust to his
nearness. This time, she didn’t flinch or move away. Progress. “I
need to know exactly what your past experiences have involved.
You’ve never had intercourse with a man, but what about
foreplay?”

She pressed her eyes closed tightly and
looked away. “No one’s ever touched me. Down there.”

“Yourself included?”

She didn’t open her eyes. “I have.”

“How?”

She released a long breath but didn’t
reply.

Price cupped her cheek, forced her to face
him. “Open your eyes, Denise. There will be no secrets between us.
Not anymore. How do you touch yourself?”

“I rub my clit.”

“And?”

“I use my fingers.”

“How many?”

She pushed his hand away from her face. “God,
does this really matter?”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he waited,
holding her gaze.

“I don’t know. Two, three?”

“What about toys? Dildos. Vibrators.”

“I don’t own any. When I feel horny, I just
use my fingers, rub myself until I…”

“Come?”

She nodded. “Sometimes. Sometimes the feeling
just sort of goes away and I stop.”

“The feeling stops?”

She blushed and lifted one shoulder in
response.

“I’ll make sure it never goes away again.”
Over the course of the afternoon, Price had run the gamut of
emotions. From annoyance to wounded pride, confusion to anger. Now
he was overwhelmed by this…this unexplainable need to stake an
irrefutable claim on Denise Parker. He’d known her less than a few
hours and yet the connection was there, growing stronger by the
minute.

The idea that Gunner would be there as well
somehow sweetened the pot. Price had always known he’d found his
niche, his place in life. The Trinity Masters fit him like a glove,
their philosophies, their lifestyle. Everything.

“You belong to us now, Denise. Gunner and I
will take care of those needs for you.”

“Can I ask a question?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

“How does it work with three of us? Will you
just take turns? Or…”

“Or?”

She shook her head. “You’re the one with all
the answers. Just tell me.”

Her expression told him she knew what his
response would be. Even so, he’d just promised they wouldn’t have
secrets. “Tonight, I suspect we’ll take turns as you said. You’re
new to this and neither of us wants to hurt or scare you.”

“But,” she prompted.

“Eventually, we will expand on your
experience.”

“How?” Her voice was growing stronger with
each question, her curiosity stronger than her reticence.

He liked her best when she was in the mood to
challenge him. “We’re going to fuck your ass and your mouth and I
have every intention of putting my cock between those pretty tits
of yours and—”

“Got it.” She raised her hand. “I don’t need
to hear anything else.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Do I have a choice?”

He frowned. “You will always have a
choice.”

She seemed genuinely surprised by his
response. “Oh. Well, I think I’d like to try that.”

“Which part?”

She looked away as she said, “All of it.”

He chuckled. “Good. But I think we’d better
change the subject or I’m going to forget all about Gunner and take
you right here in the limo.”

She gave him a wicked grin. “Probably not a
good idea to piss off a man with a gun.”

Price placed his arm along the backseat,
stroking her hair. “I’m not worried. Mine’s bigger.”

“Overcompensating for something?”

He tugged on her hair and laughed. “You’re a
minx. And you’re only baiting the bear. New topic. Who do you think
did that to your apartment?”

Denise sobered up and shrugged. “I have no
idea.”

“It didn’t seem like that earlier. When we
discovered the paint on the wall, you called them assholes. It
sounded like you suspected someone.”

“I gave a speech a few months ago at the
library about the importance of stem-cell research. We were trying
to raise funds for a new project we’re working on. Grant money has
been harder and harder to come by in this economy. There were some
protestors there. They caused a ruckus and the police even arrested
their leader, some scary-looking dude they all called the Reverend,
although if he’s ordained in any legitimate church, I’d be
seriously shocked.”

“What was their protest based on?”

“The same old controversy that always
surrounds my research. There are a lot of people who disagree with
scientists using human embryos. But if the idiot had listened to my
speech instead of climbing on his soapbox and spouting inanities,
he would have heard me say we rarely use human tissue at the
institute as it’s very hard to get. Most of my work is done with
Mus musculus.”

Price tilted his head and she laughed.

“Sorry. Fancy name for mice. In the mouse
cell we only use trophoblastic cells, which are the cells that
eventually become the chorion, the embryonic placenta. They are the
inner mass cells, which actually become the embryo we leave alone.
We believe—”

Price held up his hand to stop her. “Let’s
cut to the chase. Do you think this Reverend guy could be behind
the break-in?”

She shook her head. “I’m afraid he’s just one
of many who aren’t fond of my work. I can’t really point the finger
at him specifically. I mean, we’ve been getting some pretty nasty
phone calls lately at the lab, but the voice is always female, so
that’s obviously not the Reverend. Then someone keyed the door of
my car. I’ve been driving around town for two weeks with the word
Satan scratched in the paint. I haven’t had time to take it to the
shop to get it fixed.”

Price’s temper flared as she described the
attacks. “Did you report any of this to the police?”

She lifted one shoulder, casually dismissing
the danger. “No. I’ve been busy and none of it was that terrible.
Until tonight.” Her voice broke a little on the last word. Price
was almost relieved to spy that slightest bit of emotion on her
part. She’d been too calm since they’d left her apartment.

“I’m sure your insurance policy will cover
the damages. Besides, you may not need to replace it all. My house
is fully furnished.”

She frowned. “So?”

Price didn’t have time to answer as the
limousine pulled up in front of the hotel. “We’ll finish this
discussion when Gunner arrives.”

Roman opened the door and Price helped Denise
out of the car. He held her hand, marveling at the difference a few
hours could bring. He’d begun the day a footloose, fancy-free
bachelor, and then spent the majority of his afternoon pissed as
shit. Tonight, he would fall asleep with his virgin bride and an
FBI agent. He chuckled to himself.

Life had just become intriguing.

Chapter Three

Gunner stood outside the door to the hotel
suite, staring at the keycard in his hand. Nothing about today had
turned out the way he had expected. And yet, he couldn’t imagine a
better outcome. He’d had a thing for Deni Parker since the first
day they’d met. Unfortunately, geography and the Trinity Masters
had kept him from pursuing her. He knew he’d never be satisfied
with a long-distance relationship and he never doubted he would
fall in love with her. Because of his membership in the Trinity
Masters, he’d held back, unwilling to risk her heart—and his—on
something that couldn’t last.

He pressed his head against the cool wood of
the door and grinned. Deni was part of the Trinity Masters. She was
the last person on earth he would have pegged as a member, but now
that he thought about it, it made sense. There was no denying she
was brilliant. Beneath her wrinkled clothing, wholesome face and
endearing shyness lurked an intelligent mind and a kind heart. That
combination had been deadly to his libido for years.

Now she was his. They’d pledged to spend
their lives together.

With Price.

Price Bennett was the reason Gunner wasn’t
throwing open the hotel door and rushing straight into Deni’s arms.
The man was a crouching tiger in a two-thousand dollar custom-made
suit. He was the unknown variable. And after nearly a decade with
the FBI, Gunner had come to hate indefinites. It was his job to
uncover secrets, expose lies, and he was determined to figure Price
out.

The problem was time. He didn’t have any.
Once he entered the hotel room, for better or worse, he was going
to have to put his trust in a man he didn’t know. And that was
something he’d never done before. While waiting for the bomb squad
to disarm the device in Deni’s apartment, Gunner had run a
background check on Price.

He had to admit what he’d discovered about
the man professionally impressed him. Price was the CEO and owner
of one of top—if not the best—international security companies in
the world. He had offices in Boston, New York, London, Istanbul and
Hong Kong and his employees had protected everyone from princes to
rock stars to ambassadors.

The success of his Fortune 500 company, along
with a pile of old family money, had landed Price a spot on the
list of the world’s most eligible billionaires for three years
running. Needless to say, the man had a reputation as a
lady-killer. He’d been romantically linked to two movie stars, a
fashion model and the reigning queen of Billboard’s Top 40
list.

While the three of them were supposed to be
partners, not adversaries, Gunner suspected battle lines would be
drawn quickly if Price did anything to hurt Deni. He’d spotted the
man sitting in her office earlier, prior to the ceremony. Now he
understood what Deni meant by a long story.